The England one-day opener Ian Bell is a doubt for Saturday's first ODI against West Indies after being hit on the chin in practice. Bell took a blow taking throw-downs in the indoor net and went to hospital to establish the extent of the injury. He will definitely need stitches.

The Warwickshire batsman will be keen to play as England explore options at the top of the order following the retirement from limited-overs cricket of Kevin Pietersen.

The England captain Alastair Cook said of Bell's injury on Sky Sports News: "He was playing a pull shot and he top-edged the ball onto his chin, he's got quite a nasty gash on his chin and a sore jaw, so he's gone to hospital for an X-ray and stitches and we'll know more later this afternoon."

Asked if Bell was a doubt for Saturday's match, Cook said: "Yeah I think looking at him walking off he looked a little bit sore, clearly it had just happened. He's a little bit of a doubt at the moment and we'll know more in the next two hours or so."

He added: "We'll announce the team at the toss like we normally do, we'll just have to play that one by ear."

The West Indies captain Darren Sammy is confident his team will beat England in the three-match one-day international series. The Windies battled hard but were ultimately outclassed as they lost the recently concluded Test series 2-0. But with the hard-hitting opener Chris Gayle returning to their limited overs set-up for the opening game at the Rose Bowl, Sammy believes his side have the firepower to overcome England.

"I'm excited for the prospects of our team. If we play to our full potential we will surely win this series," he told Sky Sports News. "We competed throughout Test series, but we know we are stronger in the one-day series. The days we are looking to just compete are gone in one-day cricket, we want to win. We are very confident, we said before the tour started we were looking to win it."

The all-rounder also welcomed the return of Gayle for the first time since last year's World Cup, revealing he had fitted straight back into the team despite a more stringent training regime.

"He's been himself. He's always been his jovial self in the dressing room," he said. "He's back better than ever. We welcome him back. We have a new style of training and he's taken on board everything for West Indies cricket. Chris is a guy we've all got to manage. The physio is looking after him well. He's settled in nicely."